Foie Gras

Re "Is foie gras ban force-feeding?," June 28 Jonathan Gold quotes a "responsible chef" who claims the geese destined to furnish their livers for the foie gras served at his tables are treated with as much respect and dignity as can be shown to animals raised for slaughter. Perpetual confinement and violent termination of defenseless creatures requires not respect and dignity but callous indifference. The astonishing contradiction passes through such chefs' ethical filters undetected.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A California law that bans the sale of foie gras made from the force-feeding of birds was upheld Friday by a federal appeals court. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a district judge's refusal to block the 2012 law, which prohibits the sale of products made from the force-feeding of birds to enlarge their livers. Out-of-state producers of foie gras challenged the law on the grounds that it was unconstitutionally vague and regulated interstate commerce.

Foie gras--extra-rich duck or goose liver--is one of the world's great ingredients. How some area chefs are cooking it this season: * Chez Gilles: At this pretty Beverly Hills restaurant, foie gras is served cold in a terrine with raisins and a core of goat cheese. (Terrine, $16.50.) Chez Gilles, 267 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, (310) 276-1558. * Citrus: On the menu is a foie gras roulade--foie gras marinated in brown sugar and salt, cooked, then rolled and crusted with shiitake mushrooms.

Lost in the Fourth of July hubbub -- but just in time for Bastille Day! -- came news that the French are spying just like the United States. Mon dieu! According to the French daily Le Monde, the country's Direction Generale de la Securite Exterieure (and sorry, but that just sounds tres more sophisticated than "National Security Agency") “systematically collects information about all electronic data sent by computers and telephones in France, as well as communications between France and abroad.” Think of it as the French version of the NSA's PRISM, which Edward Snowden blabbed about.

In Spain, there is a farm where acorns and olives spill across the ground, beckoning geese that contentedly gorge themselves until they are slaughtered for their luscious fatty livers. Virtually everywhere else in the world, however, farmers prepare ducks and geese whose livers will become the delicacy known as foie gras by force-feeding them several times a day through tubes thrust down their throats. The cruelty of this process led California to pass a law in 2004 banning the force-feeding of birds and the sale of foie gras produced by that method.

SACRAMENTO -- California's legal ban on selling foie gras, the over-sized liver of a force-fed duck, remains enforced, for now. A federal judge in Los Angeles on Wednesday denied a request brought by U.S. and Canadian foie gras producers to hold up enforcing the law, which took effect July 1, while it's challenged on constitutional grounds. State lawmakers passed the prohibition in 2004 and gave farmers who raise the ducks and restauranteurs seven years to phase out the delicacy in the Golden State.

Re "French gag on ban of foie gras in California," Aug. 11 The ban on foie gras in California is a bit comical and so very American in its hypocrisy. Yes, ducks and geese are force-fed grain to grow their livers, but foie gras is not an everyday American food. It is expensive and uncommon. I challenge the people who worked so hard to ban foie gras in California to visit the beef, chicken, pork, egg and milk "factories" in our state. Perhaps these activists should put their energy toward banning the incredibly inhumane treatment of these animals, which are consumed daily by most Americans.

Once again, a federal judge in Los Angeles has refused a request to halt the new ban on the force-feeding of ducks and geese and the sale of foie gras, the delicacy made from the animals' fattened livers. The request came from a coalition of plaintiffs -- a group of restaurants, foie gras producers and a Canadian association representing duck and geese farmers of Quebec -- that is suing the state of California, contending the law is unconstitutional. The judge made the right decision.

WHAT THE FOIE GRAS French chefs can't fathom why California banned foie gras, and a growing number of French politicians feel the same way. France doesn't export fatty duck liver to the U.S., but officials have started speaking out against the law, fearing that similar restrictions will spread to Europe. [ Los Angeles Times ] U.N. AIR-DROPS FOOD IN SUDAN The United Nations air-dropped 32 tons of food to refugees on the south Sudan border in an effort to quickly get food to tens of thousands of people who have been forced out of Sudan by fighting and hunger.

World street food scene: Chef Bryant Ng of Spice Table is representing Los Angeles on the board of the first World Street Food Congress set for May 31 in Singapore, a 10-day event celebrating the richness and vibrancy of street food cultures. The event includes the World Street Food Jamboree with up to 40 hawkers, a two-day conference for the exchange of ideas and an awards event to recognize top global street food players. The board also includes Anthony Bourdain, Saveur's James Oseland and Chinese TV food host Johnny Chan.

Re "A foie gras food fight in O.C.," April 17 Thank you to chef Amar Santana of Laguna Beach for his honesty in pointing out that just because some people love animals, "it doesn't mean your neighbor feels the same way" - essentially admitting that he doesn't care about animal cruelty. It is refreshing to hear a foie gras-serving chef admit the ugly truth: They don't care if animals are tortured. Santana argues that no one has the right to force others to prevent animal cruelty.

One of two restaurant owners threatened with legal action by animal rights activists has decided to stop serving foie gras. Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach will no longer dish up fattened duck liver as a complementary side to a $55 glass of wine. “We're calling it quits,” Ahmed Labbate, Amar Santana's partner and director of operations at Broadway, said Friday. “I wish I had the money to fight PETA, but we don't. We're a small restaurant and we don't have the means.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had sent each chef a letter in early April threatening legal action if the restaurants didn't stop serving foie gras.

The sale and purchase of foie gras has been illegal in California since July 1, but a couple of Orange County chefs say they have found a legal way to continue serving the French delicacy. Noah Blom of Arc in Costa Mesa and Amar Santana of Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach are drawing the ire of the animal rights group PETA for serving fattened duck liver. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has sent letters to the chefs threatening legal action. Santana was offering customers a glass of wine for $55, with a free side of foie gras.

An animal-rights group has sent letters threatening legal action against two Orange County chefs who continue to serve foie gras at their upscale restaurants. The chefs serve fattened duck liver at Arc in Costa Mesa and at Broadway by Amar Santana in Laguna Beach, drawing the ire of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. California banned the sale and purchase of fattened duck liver on July 1, but chefs Noah Blom of Arc and Santana have found what they believe are legal ways to continue serving the French delicacy.

March 6, 2013 | By Tiffany Hsu, This post has been updated. See the note below for details.

Animal advocacy group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter Wednesday morning to Hot's Restaurant Group asking the Hermosa Beach eatery to “swear off foie gras for good.” In the missive, PETA said it investigated Palmex Inc., the Canadian farm it says supplies Rougie brand foie gras to Hot's, and found inhumane treatment of ducks. California's ban on selling the fattened duck or goose liver went into effect July 1. Restaurateurs say foie gras is a delicacy crucial to maintaining culinary credibility.